South Korea
The weekly Davis Index for containerised HMS 1&2 (80:20) settled at $240/mt cfr South Korea, up by $10/mt on global cues.
Mills in Korea are struggling with weak finished and semi-finished steel demand. But active trades in Turkey drove ferrous scrap prices upwards.
The index for US-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) rose by approx $8/mt to $266.25/mt cfr Turkey from last Wednesday.
The indexes for #1 HMS, shredded increased by $9/mt to $246/mt cfr and $10/mt to $253/mt cfr, respectively.
The weekly index for containerised #1 busheling scrap settled at $266/mt, up by $6/mt. Offers for busheling were at $265-$270/mt cfr South Korea with no trades heard. A leading steelmaker Daiken Steel booked #2 HMS at JPY24,000/mt fob Japan, up by JPY1,000/mt from late last week’s price level. Another steelmaker is expected to open a purchase tender for imported scrap in the coming days.
South Korean domestic scrap prices dropped further amid high scrap inventories with mills. But these prices are likely to bottom out soon, believes trader. Dongkuk, SeAH, YK, Daehan, and Hyundai Steel lowered their domestic scrap purchase prices by KRW5,000/mt ($4.18/mt) del mill for a fourth successive week. Increasing imported scrap prices are likely to impact domestic scrap prices soon.
Taiwan
The daily Davis Index for containerized US-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) settled flat at $242/mt cfr Taiwan. Market participants are expecting offers for imported scrap to firm up in the coming days on the back of the bullish Turkish market. The rise is also likely to have a bearing on domestic scrap prices.
Deals for US-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) were heard at $240-243/mt cfr on Wednesday, while offers were at $245-$247/mt cfr. Taiwanese steel manufacturers booked South American HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $230-$237/mt to reduce input cost due to high offers from the US.
Steelmakers expect steel demand to remain sluggish and tighten the spread between scrap and finished steel amid rising prices for the former. Manufacturers could thus look to pass on the rise in input cost to finished steel buyers. In such a case, finished steel demand is likely to be impacted further.
Feng Hsin Steel kept domestic HMS 1&2 (80:20) purchase prices at TWD6,800/mt delivered Taichung mill. The steelmaker’s base offers for rebar and billet was flat at TWD13,800/mt and TWD12,300/mt ex-works. Some mills offered discounts on listed prices to boost sales.
In seaborne trades, the US and Australian-origin containerised HMS 1&2 (80:20) traded at $240-245/mt cfr Taiwan on Tuesday, up from $235-238/mt cfr Taiwan last week. Japanese small bulk cargoes of HMS 1&2 (50:50) offered $255/mt cfr Taiwan, while shredded traded at $270-275/mt cfr Taiwan.
($1=TWD29.43)